Eight Michigan libraries secure inaugural rural library grants

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What’s happening: Eight libraries across Oakland, Monroe, and Livingston counties are the first Michigan recipients of the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation’s new Rural Library Grants Program. The three-year, $3 million initiative recognizes that rural libraries are vital, free public spaces where residents of all backgrounds gather, learn, and access technology close to home.

How the grants will help: Funding will enhance everyday community spaces and services. In practice, libraries are adding outdoor classrooms, sensory gardens, dedicated teen centers, private study pods, makerspaces, and updated technology, alongside programming to support local skills and regional nonprofits.

The Michigan recipients:

• Addison Township Public Library (Oakland County), $86,950 to build an outdoor learning space featuring sensory gardens and flexible, shaded seating with a projector.
• Brandon Township Public Library (Oakland County), $62,000 to install a 300-foot StoryWalk trail.
• Brighton District Library (Livingston County), $71,500 for an environmental review and feasibility study to connect the library to the adjacent nature preserve via a new trail and boardwalk.
• Ellis Library and Reference Center (Monroe County), $73,800 to install 26 permanent outdoor musical instruments across six rural branches.
• Fowlerville District Library (Livingston County), $151,000 to transform an underutilized storage area into a modern Teen Center.
• Lyon Township Public Library (Oakland County), $25,300 to supply and secure equipment for a new community Makerspace.
• Milan Public Library (Monroe County), $25,300 to reconfigure its layout to improve early literacy spaces and after-school programming.
• Orion Township Public Library (Oakland County), $16,650 to upgrade an existing wooded trail and install a new family StoryWalk by this fall.

About the program: The program strengthens rural libraries as regional anchors, splitting $1.5 million per region over three years (about $500,000 annually). This first round supports more than 30 libraries across Southeast Michigan and Western New York with projects tailored directly to local community needs.

What they’re saying: “In many rural communities, libraries have grown into trusted, dynamic spaces where residents connect with resources, ideas, and one another,” said Maura Dewan, vice president of programs for the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation. “We are proud to support projects that reflect the true aspirations of the people they know best.”

More: Grantees were chosen through a competitive process run by local partner organizations. The Library Network, alongside the Woodlands and Suburban library cooperatives, is managing the program across Southeast Michigan.

About the foundation: Based in Detroit, the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation is a grantmaking organization established in 2011 through the bequest of the late founder and longtime owner of the Buffalo Bills football team.